1. Field
The present embodiments generally relate to systems and methods for deasphalting and dewatering hydrocarbons. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods for dewatering crude oil using solvent from residual oil extraction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Crude oil typically contains a large amount of water that must be separated prior to upgrading. Dewatering is an expensive step in the process of upgrading crude oil for transportation and/or refining due to the slight differences in specific gravity between the oil and water. Large separation vessels, for example, have been used to phase separate the water from the oil, but such approach is extremely time consuming and inefficient. Heating the oil and water to increase the density difference has also been used, as have specialty chemicals to assist in the separation. However, such techniques are capital cost intensive and expensive to operate and maintain.
A need exists for an improved process to dewater crude oils while minimizing capital investment.